Slippery Slope
by darveyswhiskey
Summary: Donna teaches Harvey how to ice skate


"You're doing it wrong."

"How do you figure?" He grumbles in response, a sour expression on his face as he tries and fails to pick himself off the rink.

Donna purses her lips, "I'm fairly certain your ass isn't meant to meet the ice every ten seconds."

He glares up at her smirk, hesitating for a moment before accepting her outstretched hand. She helps him up in one fell swoop and he momentarily admires her physical strength.

"Why the hell did I agree to this again?" Harvey ponders, more to himself as he grips her glove covered hand tighter, gliding at a snail's pace across the ice.

"Because I asked you to," she reminds him with a cheeky smile.

His lips quirk at her pleased look, shaking his head at his own lack of self will when it came to Donna Paulsen. Momentarily distracted by the way her auburn hair flows in the wind, he suddenly feels himself wobbling again.

"Okay, tell me what I'm doing wrong here," Harvey pleads, outstretching a hand in an attempt to steady himself.

"Try bending your knees, not too much though," she eyes him warily as he fixes his stance next to her, "And try picking up your feet a little, so I'm not literally dragging you across the ice."

He follows her instructions with a deep focus, doing as he was told to the best of his ability…

"What?" He tells her when he notices her biting her lip, holding back a laugh.

"What what?" She retorts in her best innocent tone.

He tilts his head at her, _"Donna,"_

"You just- you look like Bambi trying to walk, is all," she finally lets a chuckle loose.

"Gee, thanks."

The glare he sends her is enough to set him off balance again, nearly toppling over for the fifth time that night already.

Donna extends her arms out in reflex, ready to steady him if need be, "See? That's what you get," she mocks. "Okay, now try holding onto the railing."

"I'm not a child, Donna."

She lifts an eyebrow in his direction, "You're sure as hell acting like one tonight."

"Am not."

"Oh, you've convinced me." She gives him that _Donna look_ until he relents, grabbing onto the railing with a pout on his lips.

They glide for a while in a comfortable silence, the already darkening sky making them one of the few skaters left in the rink. Harvey eyes the remaining children stumbling out of the ice with their parents by their side, the cacophony of giggles echoing in the distance as they flee into the night. He eyes his girlfriend then, a navy blue beanie adorning her head, whips of copper hair flowing against the cool night breeze.

"So, tell me something?" She turns to look at him, a relaxed smile playing on her peach tinted lips, "Why do you like ice skating so much?"

Donna shrugs, "I've just always enjoyed it, I don't know, I don't have some kind of sentimentality attached to it, it was just always something I did during this time of year."

His smile mirrors her own, and he squeezes her hand in response. When she had come to him earlier in the week, a giddy smile on her lips as she stepped into his office and told him she planned on taking him out to ice skate, he'd been a little taken aback. For all the things he knew about his best friend, her love for ice skating had somehow slipped through the cracks. Still, he had hesitated when she asked, the thought alone making him shift uncomfortably in his chair.

" _What?" She asked, half amused._

" _I don't- really ice skate, Donna."_

 _She smirked, "Of course you don't, that's why I'm going to teach you."_

" _But-"_

" _No, 'buts', mister. We both know you're going to cave eventually so just give it up. I'll pick you on Saturday at seven. It'll be fun."_

And with an all too excited grin, she had left his office with an extra bounce on her step. And it _had_ been fun, mostly. If you didn't count the times he had fallen on his ass during the first half hour alone… Still, watching her now, pale face flushed with glee, her nose and cheeks tinted red from the cold, he found that he was having fun. In some cliché he swore he never would fall victim to, just having her by his side was enough to make this winter endeavor all the more appealing.

"Okay, now you're getting it." Donna comments after a while, noting how he went from an awkward stumble to a semi-graceful glide, "Kind of," she snorts when her voice causes him to falter.

His attempt at a glare fails when his lips quirk at her own smile. She had an uncanny ability to let her mirth rub onto him, as he's come to realize in the thirteen years he's known her.

"So, do you have any Christmas plans yet?" Harvey inquires after a beat, tightening his hold on her hand when they come to a turn.

Donna chews on her lips for a moment, his question catching her off guard. "Uh, not really, no. I mean, I usually go up to see my parents, but nothing has been set in stone yet this year, why?" She turns to look at him, her curiousity peeking when she can visibly see him trying to organize his next words in his mind.

"My brother called," he starts slowly, gauging her reaction in the corner of his eye, "He has his annual Christmas Eve dinner thing he throws with his wife and her parents who also go, I think." Donna sends him an amused smile as he starts fumbling through the words. "Their kids will also be there, of course." He pauses for a moment, eyes trained on his skates, but she has an inkling he's just trying to formulate his next words carefully. "And uh, well, my mom will be there too."

Donna raises her eyebrows once his gaze meets hers, "Are you going?" She asks him quietly.

Harvey shrugs, "I want to. It's been- too long since we all shared a Christmas together."

She sends him a soft smile, squeezing his hand to let him know she understood.

"I want you to come with me," he finally manages to get the words out, his eyes hopeful and shy all at once.

Despite the fact that she saw this coming, his invitation still sets her heart racing, the implications of what it meant to take a girl home for the holidays hitting her in full.

"You sure?" She breathes out.

Harvey nods, "Yeah, I want you there. Actually pretty certain I wouldn't go without you," he chuckles, trying to lighten the conversation.

Donna quirks her lips, "You could, you know."

He shakes his head too quickly at her words and she finds herself laughing at the gesture, "Okay, I will."

"Really?" His feet brake against the ice then, causing Donna to nearly face plant against the frozen water. Harvey reaches out without thought, steadying her with an unexpected balance, "You okay?" He smirks when she clutches his biceps to secure herself.

"You _want_ me to leave you on the ice alone?" She raises her eyebrows at him, smirking in return when he visibly swallows her threat.

"Point taken," he grumbles. His hands carefully slide down to her waist then, making sure they were balanced before he looked into her eyes again, "So… you'll go?"

"Of course. How else am I going to get to hear all of the embarassing stories of one Harvey Specter when he was a child?" Her tongue peaks out between her teeth in a coy smile.

Despite himself, he lets a smile creep onto his own face, shaking his head at her antics. "God, you and my brother are going to get along well. _Too well_ , if you ask me."

Donna chuckles at his semi-horrified expression, "And your mom?"

Harvey sobers up, the casual mention of his mother still rocking him off kilter, "Well, she already loves you, that much I know."

She tilts her head at his words, forehead knitting beneath her beanie, "How do you figure?"

"I may have- mentioned that you were the reason I finally went to go see her, why I forgave her after all this time."

His confession hits her like a ton of bricks, not expecting this kind of admission from him, "Harvey…"

"I didn't mention you by name, but she knows. I uh, also may have mentioned I was seeing someone during our last phone call and she kind of connected the dots," he tells her sheepishly.

Her heart stutters at the mention of him telling his mom about her, knowing he wouldn't share just anything with the woman. "You know that was all you, Harvey. I couldn't have encouraged you to go see her if you weren't ready." Her glove covered hand meets his cheek, the warmth emitting from it making his eyes flutter close for a split second.

"I know," he whispers, "But I also know I couldn't have done it without you, gotten that extra push I needed to go see her."

She smiles in response, her lips meeting his in a short peck before settling against him again. "I'm proud of you, Harvey. You deserve to have all the family you can have around you, especially during this time of year."

"So do you," he replies on a reflex, bringing both of her hands to his lips. He knows that after her father had spent of all of their family savings, she never quite had that picture perfect holiday again. Neither of them did. "You're my family now, Donna. I mean, you always were, that goes without saying, but from here on out? We're a package deal."

She tries to come up with a quip to throw his way, still not used to having this overly sweet and sappy Harvey in her life, but finds that she can't find it in her. Not when he's looking at her with those warm brown eyes that have comforted her for twelve plus years, that she now gets to wake up to everyday.

Instead, she leans up as best she could with her skates on, standing on the tip of the blades to give him a lingering kiss. His arms wind around her automatically, keeping her in place as he angles his head against her, deepening their kiss. She only lets his tongue slide agains her a few times, pulling back before their kiss goes too far, knowing there were still a few children lurking around the arena.

Parting from his lips, she finds a Cheshire Cat-like smile facing her, and she feels her cheeks warming against his gaze, "What?" she chuckles.

Harvey shakes his head, "Nothing, just, you look cute tonight."

That warming in her cheeks grows ten-fold then and she curses herself for being so affected by him. _"Cute?"_

"Yeah," Harvey shrugs, that boyish grin still in place. His eyes rake over her form, from her navy blue beanie, to the matching scarf she wore, making her appear more youthful. It was a strike contrast to the array of expensive dresses and heels he saw her in at work everyday, and he doesn't think he'll ever get used to seeing her, _having her,_ in the most casual and normal settings.

Her eyes narrow playfully at him, "I'm not sure if I should take that as a compliment or not," she jokes.

"Compliment," Harvey reassures, leaning over to press a kiss to her cold nose.

An unexpected giggle escapes her at his actions, and she suddenly feels like she's sixteen, out on an ice skating date with her first boyfriend, "You're incorrigible."

He sends her that cheeky smile again as she shakes her head, taking his hand in hers to continue their journey across the ice. In a bold move, he starts to pick up the pace, getting a handle on the movements of his feet, gliding through with a sudden speed.

"You know, I think I'm starting to get the hang of this," he notes proudly.

"Harvey…" Donna eyes him warily when they start picking up momentum, his hand leaving the rail in increments, "Harvey I didn't think-"

Suddenly, his feet grow a mind of their own, his own skates colliding and causing him to stumble forward. She reaches over to him on reflex, trying to break his fall and get him to hold onto the wall at the same time. In an attempt to prevent himself from toppling over her, he reels her back in, causing him to tumble backwards, landing himself firmly on his ass, with Donna half on top of him, a squeal of surprise and fear leaving her lips.

" _Harvey what the hell!"_

Her own ass is planted on the ice, leaving her long legs to be strewn across his lap.

" _Shit,"_ Harvey winces, a sharp pain shooting straight through him, "Are you okay?" He eyes her then, concern written on his features as he studies her for any visible injuries.

"I'm _fine,_ " she scowls, "I didn't notice you hit your head the last time you fell, did you suddenly forget you couldn't skate?" she swats his chest in annoyance.

"I'm sorry," he mumbles beside her, trying to dust off the pieces of ice off their pants.

"Uh, huh."

"Hey, you sure you're okay?" He reaches for her hand, eyes riddled with guilt.

Her demeanor softens slightly under his gaze, "Yeah," she breathes out at once, "You?"

Harvey only nods dumbly in response, "My ego is more bruised than my ass, but I'm fine." Her lips curl at his words, watching as he grumbles trying to stand himself up.

"Easy there, _hot shot_ ," Donna swings her legs over him, managing to stand up with ease before she reaches her hands out to him.

"God, I hope our kid grows up to have your coordination and not mine," Harvey mutters as he finally stands to full height.

" _What?"_

"What what?" Harvey watches her wide eyes with confusion, until his own words sink in.

 _Oh._

 _Our kid._

"Oh, I, uh, I didn't mean- I just _meant_ \- that when we, well not _when_ , but you know, _if_ we ever- if you _want_ -"

"Harvey," If she wasn't so taken aback by his words she would've laughed at his near horrified expression.

Her boyfriend sighs, "I just-"

"You think about that? Having kids?" Her voice is soft when she speaks, almost timid. It had only been a few months since they had gotten together, and even with thirteen years of history behind them, they still hadn't talked about having kids or marriage. She almost thought she was going to meet the ice again when the words had slipped out of his mouth.

"I- well, yeah," he confesses on a sigh, "Does that freak you out?" He inquires with a wince, almost expecting her to run away, or better yet _skate away_ , screaming.

A laugh escapes her at his words, surprised he would be the one voicing that, "No, it doesn't." She steps closer to him then, trying her best to hold onto his arms without letting them lose their balance again.

His lips quirk, "No?"

Donna shakes her head, her hazel eyes gleaming under the towering lights of the city, "I just never thought you would…"

"Want kids?"

She bites her lip in response, nodding.

He mirrors her nod, "Yeah, I never would've thought so either," he takes hold of the railing, clasping onto her hand as they begin a slower glide through the rink again, "I never saw myself being… _that guy._ "

"A dad?" She ponders beside him, watching him.

"Yeah, but then," he turns to look at her before facing ahead again, not wanting to land them on the cold ground again, "We got together, and it's- been on my mind a lot."

Once again, his confession makes her heart race against her chest, her own words catching in her throat with an emotion she didn't even know where to place.

"I just feel like, we already wasted so much time being apart you know?" His guilt over that fact was something she has come to know too well, knowing that he still beat himself up for taking too long to get to where they were now, despite her constant reassurance that it had been a two-person job.

Suddenly, a thought enters her mind, and she tries not to let it halter her movements lest they fall again, "Wait… are you saying you want kids… _soon?_ "

Her breath hitches as she waits for his response, only relaxing when he shakes his head.

"No, no, I mean, if it happened, then, I'll be thrilled- albeit freaked the hell out," she laughs at his admission, "but, I do want it to happen. Someday." His eyes turn to meet hers again, and that familiar fluttering in her stomach rises.

"Someday," she echoes softly.

"Yeah, someday." His grin encourages her own, and he squeezes her hand in response.

They glide in a comfortable silence across the ice for a couple more minutes, relishing in the quiet of the night, a rarity for living in the city.

"Just promise me one thing?" Donna's voice finally breaks through.

"Anything," comes his immediate response.

"Let _me_ be the one to teach our kid how to skate."


End file.
